AHMEDABAD - Let's Study Together · THE THE ECONOMIC TIMES | AHMEDABAD | FRIDAY | 9 JUNE 2017...
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The Edit Page T HE E CONOMIC T IME S It’s heartening that three Indian universities feature among the top 200 in the latest QS world ranking of universities. QS rankings have a weightage of 50% for reputation among the academics and employers it surveys, and thus has a structural bias against Asian universities and, in particular, against sm- aller universities that produce few globetrotting academics or technology workers. However, there is no gainsaying that Indi- an higher education is deficient, when it comes to pushing the boundaries of human insight and ingenuity forward. India needs to cover a huge ground, starting from primary ed- ucation, to become a knowledge society by global standards. Instead of respect for received wisdom, authority and hierar- chy, our system of education must promo- te the spirit of inquiry. Our institutions of higher education must nurture the spirit of enlightened questioning, as well as ex- perimentation. That entails challenging extant wisdom and tolerance of question- ing and criticism. Without that, research cannot flourish. Any ranking of universi- ties would give great weightage to research citations by facul- ty. In India, the Indian Institute of Science is an outlier in this regard. The need is to integrate teaching and research across universities. For research-active faculty, functional autono- my and attractive remuneration are essential. Expanding higher education also calls for enhancing the ef- ficacy of public spending, apart from enhancing public fund- ing and supplementing it with realistic tuition fees in the case of higher education. Liberal scholarships and student loans must complement higher tuition fees, of course. Indian indus- try must also pitch in, funding research at our institutions of higher learning, to fuel their own ambitions to achieve global levels of excellence. Going Beyond the QS Ranking of Universities 14 THE ECONOMIC TIMES | AHMEDABAD | FRIDAY | 9 JUNE 2017 The Trusty Tux is as Useful as the LBD The little black dress (LBD) has become a fashion icon be- cause it’s a fail-safe formal ensemble. Former US First Lady Michelle Obama’s revelation that her husband ex-president Barack Obama wore the same black tuxedo for every import- ant evening event for his entire eight years in the White Hou- se shows that men have had the same fallback too, only no one has drawn attention to it all this while. Does anyone notice if George Clooney repeats his suits or evening jackets as he escorts his glamorous wife Amal on red carpets? Did anyone check whether the British princes at Pippa Middleton’s wed- ding wore the same morning suits to previous society nupti- als? Unlikely. It may be germane to mention that the originat- or of the LBD was the actress amour of King Edward VII, Lil- lie Langtry, who stood out in London society over a century ago by wearing only a black dress — the same one, for a long time — and no jewellery for all engagements. It is not surpri- sing that no one recalls what her royal friend wore. Of course, Michelle Obama’s disclosure gives rise to specu- lation whether besides his trusty tux, Obama wore only one suit for his two terms too, leaving the entire dressing room space in the presidential suite for his wife’s extensive ward- robe. That would count as a significant concession for the US clothing retail industry. Obama wearing the same tuxedo for all events shows men have a fail-safe too Finance minister Arun Jaitley did the right thing by ma- king it clear that the government respects the RBI’s deci- sion on policy rates, something that is within its remit to set, through the new mechanism of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) that includes three economists nomi- nated by the government. He was also right to assert the finance ministry’s right to communicate its views to the MPC on what policy rates should be. In the era of globali- sed finance and footloose capital that can shift trillions of dollars across national borders in the twinkling of an eye, fiscal and monetary policy must coordinate, to main- tain macroeconomic stability. But how that coordination takes place is as important as the need for it. And this is where the MPC’s decision to assert its independence and the finance minister’s open acknowledgement of that in- dependence serve the nation well. The fact of the matter is that the binding constraint on the economy is not the cost of borrowing but the structu- ral problem of the banking system’s inability to lend and large companies’ inability to borrow, owing to huge past loans that have turned sour. Resolving this problem has to be the central ban- ks’ priority, as well as that of the gov- ernment. It might not be sufficient to authorise the RBI to restructure the bad loans of the banks it supervises. Political capital has to be spent to make the haircuts that banks would have to take while doing that restructuring viable. If bank chair- men are not assured that such haircuts would not lead to charges of causing loss to the exchequer that land them in jail, few would venture to take the plunge: they would much rather dither and retire, and let their successors handle the mess. Only the government can provide that reassurance, by making it clear that it makes a distinc- tion between decisions that were mala fide and decisions that simply went wrong and would go after only those be- hind the mala fide decisions. The good news is that the government does have enor- mous political capital, after the ruling party’s sweeping victory in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Time to Draw on Political Capital That is the only way to push up lending, growth A SRINIVAS Who is a good human being? Charles Dickens said people were good and bad. But he cou- ldn’t figure out what made them that way. Unfortunately, Dick- ens missed — by about 50 years — the revolution in psychology brought about by Sigmund Fre- ud. Freud believed an individu- al’s personality was shaped in his infancy, with later influenc- es having only a negligible imp- act. But Freud erred in focus- ing on natural instincts to the exclusion of social structures. A good human being is honest to himself and sensitive to the needs of others. An emotional- ly honest person is a product of an upbringing that infuses a sense of self-worth. People can lack self-worth because of some kind of Freudian rejection in their infancy. To overcome their feeling of smallness or insecur- ity, they control, even with good intentions, those emotionally or socially weaker than them. The oppressed tend to control those still more vulnerable to overcome their misery. Hence, a chain of power is established in family and social relations. Control distorts love and good- ness. It is exercised through psychological manipulation, or through the social hierarchy. The good individual stands li- berated from the control chain, from thought systems that div- ide people. He tends to be free of malice, fear and inner tur- moil — all of which arise from carrying the burden of the past. The past can be overcome only by coming to terms with it. Here, Freud’s contribution to the betterment of the hum- an condition is invaluable. In a State of Goodness The Centre is reportedly planning a major policy initiative to rev up us- age of electric vehicles. The game plan is to sell automobiles without batteries. This would slash costs by as much as 70%. Further, what’s pro- posed is a nationwide leasing of bat- teries, for rapid diffusion of e-vehi- cles and change in the techno-econo- mic paradigm. The way ahead is to install solar-po- wered vehicle chargers in the main urban centres for starters, and with the express purpose of opting for green energy, especially in public transportation. It would be path- breaking and innovative. Speedy policy implementation is key. A focused initiative to boost solar- powered charging of e-vehicles wou- ld meet several policy objectives. It would step up the supply of environ- mentally benign power in our com- mercial energy mix. It has the potential to very substan- tially reduce fossil fuel imports. And widespread plying of battery-power- ed buses and e-rickshaws in dense urban areas can proactively bring down pollution levels, particularly if there’s solar charging. Reports suggest that battery techno- logy for automotive use is set to make rapid progress in the medium term and beyond. This would reduce costs and boost demand for e-vehicles. Hen- ce the need to have a forward-looking policy in place for convenient solar charging. What’s required is a solid business case for installing solar- powered e-vehicle chargers widely. However, it is a fact that neither the global oil majors nor the main auto- mobile companies seem particularly bullish on e-vehicles. A recent report mentioned that one of the biggest oil retailers expects the global e-vehicle fleet to add up to no more than 11%, by 2040. Another oil major reported- ly expects e-vehicle numbers to be a lowly 6% in 2035. Automobile majors seem more san- guine about the prospects of e-vehi- cles, but expectations vary. So, while one major manufacturer expects ev- ery fourth car sold globally to be an e-vehicle by 2025, another has main- tained that the phase-out of fossil- fuel vehicles will stretch to 2050. Nevertheless, there’s progress on the battery technology front, and we need to fast-forward the usage of e-buses and e-rickshaws as environ- ment-friendly public transport. Al- ready, graphene battery technology is said to be far more productive than the lithium-ion route. The former costs far less too. Besides, the internal combustion engine has an efficiency rate of only about 20% when it comes to convert- ing fuel into useful energy. Its umpte- en moving parts and systems make it prone to breakdowns. In contrast, e-vehicles are vastly more robust and energy efficient. Which is why it makes eminent sense to step up the policy push for e-vehicles and solar- powered chargers. The way forward is to rapidly set up charging infrastructure, initially for public transport, by leveraging funds from, for instance, the clean environment cess corpus. We need to install rapid solar-charging stati- ons, fast chargers and ultra-fast char- gers, to have a network of charging points right across the board. Fast and ultra-fast chargers require more power, and will wear out batter- ies sooner. But with an attractive leasing plan in place for e-vehicle bat- teries, the quicker wear-out should actually accelerate efficiency impro- vement and productivity gains. It would lead to a virtuous cycle, and would step up both the demand and supply of e-vehicles going for- ward. The costs of solar power have been tumbling and falling for quite a while now. It is possible that with po- licy-induced demand for chargers, the economics of solar panels would further improve. We need to put in place norms and standards for the solar charging in- frastructure. One Britain-based oil major says it would start installing solar-powered e-chargers at its fuel stations this year. The mavens sug- gest that rapid chargers, which can recharge e-vehicle batteries in half an hour or so, need solar panels of about 50kW. Also, we need ultra-fast chargers to recharge on the go — in, say, 15 minu- tes — with 350kW solar power. Such chargers need to come up, to begin with, in bus depots. There’s also the need for dedicated charging points for e-rickshaws. There’s the further need to have sol- ar-powered chargers along highways in a phased manner, in keeping with the diffusion of e-vehicles on the gro- und. At the same time, we need slow chargers, to charge e-cars overnight, with, say, 3kW solar power. Additionally, residential colonies will need perhaps 20kW installed to recharge e-cars in 3-4 hours. More ge- nerally, we need to encourage throu- gh policy solar-powered inverters in homes, with dedicated solar panels of, say, 0.5-1kW to make solar-powered backup systems an essential house- hold gadget. It would shore up supply of solar panels and chargers, and purposefully drive zooming e-vehicle usage nationwide. [email protected] Get All Charged Up About Solar NOW & THEN Jaideep Mishra Well, it is sunny FILE PHOTO E xternal engagement is a fac- tor of internal priorities. This has been an abiding tenet of India’s foreign po- licy. Which is why it’s puzz- ling that New Delhi’s policy towards China’s ‘Belt and Road Initiative’ (BRI) is out of touch with the reality of Chinese involvement in India’s own economy. When the Pakistani daily, Dawn, revealed China’s plans to build Pak- istan’s internet backbone via the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) last month (goo.gl/ttMtha), influential voices in India scoffed at Islamabad’s open invitation to Beij- ing to surveil its society. China is not only creating Pakistan’s fibre optic backbone but it is also developing its digital infrastructure for law and or- der ‘monitoring and control’. The Chops and the Sticks Just as the CPEC is BRI’s flagship project, the creation of information and communication technology (ICT) ecosystems is the most important element of BRI. In no other area will Beijing’s influence on BRI member states be more pronounced than in cyberspace. Because China can sup- ply digital goods at extremely compe- titive prices. India has stayed away from BRI to counter China’s influence on the re- gion’s economies. This concern was eloquently articulated in 2015 by for- eign secretary S Jaishankar, who sug- gested China was looking to “hard wire” norms of governance in Asia. Digital spaces, in the absence of set- tled international regimes, are ripe for such hardwiring. Unfortunately, this concern is acu- te in India’s own digital economy. Sample these statistics from the Klei- ner Perkins Internet Trends 2017 rep- ort released on May 31. Four of the top-selling five smartphones in India today are Chinese: Lenovo, Oppo, Vi- vo and Xiaomi. Their collective mar- ket share grew from a modest 15% in 2014 to an astonishing 52% by the fir- st quarter of 2017. More importantly, this growth came at the cost of Indi- an manufacturers, whose market sh- are declined exactly in reverse, from 45% to 15% in three years. The report also suggests UC Brow- ser, developed by China’s internet gi- ant Alibaba, has carved out a 50% sh- are of India’s mobile browser mark- et. A 2015 ExIm bank report conclud- ed that India is China’s largest “re- cipient of capital investment in elec- tronics”. In 2013-14, China accounted for a staggering 58% of all electronic imports to India. So, one could argue that all roads from China’s digital economy lead to India. Given Beijing’s pervasive reach over India’s IT ecosystem, is it any- one’s case that BRI policies will not affect New Delhi? The Indian response to China’s do- mination of its digital economy shou- ld not be to ban Chinese products and services. That would only halt the surge in internet penetration in Ind- ia, and go against the grain of this go- vernment’s ‘Digital India’ and ‘Make in India’ initiatives. If anything, Chi- na’s technology giants must be invit- ed to build capacity in India, whether in high-end manufacturing, data an- alytics abilities or through financing R&D in Indian universities. They must be encouraged to be honest int- erlocutors and to refrain from exploi- tative trade activities. Fasten the Belt on the Road From a strategic perspective, it must be ensured that China’s creeping in- fluence over cyberspace rules does not pose a challenge for India. Indian players should not find themselves shut out by Chinese competition from the region’s digital economies, or at the very least, from their own. Boycotting the Belt and Road Sum- mit in Beijing last month was New Delhi’s political signal to Asian coun- tries that it is willing to challenge Ch- ina’s economic influence in the region. This resistance cannot be premised on providing loans, products or servi- ces for the digital economy at par with China, not when India’s own market relies heavily on Chinese players. It should, instead, be driven by a multilateral effort — led by India and other major economies like Japan, Singapore and South Korea — to set norms of governance for cyberspace in Asia. Such an effort would involve both a high-level understanding on the strategic and military uses of cy- berspace, and dialogue between ma- jor industrial players on the techni- cal standards and protocols to be ad- opted by them. A rule-based ecosystem is the only way to prevent Chinese companies from dumping cheap devices in forei- gn markets, and gaming regulations to suit their products. But to incuba- te such an effort, India needs to arti- culate its own laws on data integrity, encryption, the access for law enfor- cement to electronic data, the Inter- net of Things and digital payments. India’s most effective antidote to Chi- nese influence in Asia is the creation of an open domestic market, serving the ‘Digital India’ goals of inclusive and affordable connectivity, but secu- re and reliable enough that other ju- risdictions can emulate as their own. Without a baseline reference for the global standards it seeks to promote, India will also not be able to stem the influence of China in Asian markets. Foreign policy is decisive in the pur- suit of India’s strategic interests. But it is merely an extension of its dom- estic values and principles. A Digital India serves India’s interest when it is attractive to others and offers solu- tions others seek to embrace. India’s forceful show of intent by staying away from BRI must be backed by its own strategy to moderate China’s ri- se. And that work begins at home. The writers are with the Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi Belt & Road, Take Me Home Staying away from China’s BRI must be backed by India strengthening its own (digital) backbone First set up your own ecosystem FILE PHOTO The resistance to China should be led by a multilateral effort by India, Japan, Singapore and South Korea to set norms of governance for cyberspace in Asia Samir Saran & Arun Sukumar Letters to the editor may be addressed to [email protected] RBI, Focus on NPA Recovery Apropos the Edit, ‘Propping Up the RBI’s Credibility’ (Jun 8), the question of autonomy of RBI in monetary and credit management is looming again. The government wants growth for which rate cut is required, but RBI’s Monetary Policy Co- mmittee is in favour of inflati- on control by the traditional method of squeezing liquidity. Pay Commission and GST are expected to push up consump- tion, but low credit offtake for banks despite excess liquidity makes it difficult for investme- nt-driven growth. RBI should focus on recovery of non-perfor- ming assets from corporates than blame farm loan waivers. SANJAY TIWARI Hisar An Attentive Ear Won’t Harm RBI This refers to the Edit, ‘Prop- ping Up the RBI’s Credibility’. The MPC would not have lost autonomy by attending a meet- ing convened by finance minis- try officials. In fact, by attend- ing the meeting, the members of the MPC could have got the governme- nt’s ideas bef- ore taking mo- netary policy decisions. Any suggestion will not amou- nt to interference. In fact, gov- ernment borrowings, taxation and fiscal balances, all affect monetary policies of the RBI, and the monetary policies af- fect the government’s finan- ces. So why this reluctance? S KALYANASUNDARAM By email Duckworth and Lewis, Goodbye The result of ICC Champions Trophy match between South Africa and Pakistan by Duck- worth-Lewis rule is highly un- acceptable. South Africa’s sco- re of 219-8 (50) is countered by Pakistan with 119-3 (27) and it is declared a winner is absurd. This is a classic case of mathe- matics overtaking logic and reason. Still 100 runs from vic- tory and having lost three wic- kets, Pakistan would have col- lapsed at any time. It is time to send the rule to the pavilion. As in some other games like tennis, it is better to continue playing the game the next day. NAGARAJ SHENOY Bengaluru Chat Room With the announcement of the Stra- tegic Partnership policy, the Indian ministry of defence (MoD) has rolled out a significant initiative aimed at revitalising the ‘Defence Industrial Ecosystem’. This announcement co- uld be ground-breaking. Cementing partnerships with Indian companies is already recognised as an importa- nt opportunity for big foreign defen- ce manufacturing companies, provi- ding an impetus to ‘Make in India’. The British defence sector, with its unique expertise and already estab- lished long-term commitment, is lo- oking at these developments with at- tention. The devil will be in the deta- ils. But to date, the plans are radical and make the elusive target of 70% indigenous manufacturing, which MoD is committed to, realisable. It’s been over a decade since India’s private sector was directly involved in defence manufacturing. Citing security concerns, India’s defence procurement has largely been dri- ven by various defence public sector undertakings (DPSUs) and the Ord- nance Factory Board. While defence manufacturing was ‘liberalised’ in 2001and opened up to not just Indian private players but also to foreign en- tities (49% FDI), a defence production base outside of the DPSUs and the OFB has not yet been prevalent. The radical element is the pivotal role the private sector is envisaged to play bringing together all stake- holders, including foreign original equipment manufacturers, for dev- eloping indigenous defence manu- facturing. Active involvement of the private sector will have a transform- ational impact. It will enhance com- petition, raise efficiencies, facilitate faster and more significant technolo- gy absorption, create a tiered indust- rial ecosystem, ensure development of a wider skill base, trigger innova- tion and promote participation in global value chains and exports. From a strategic perspective, it will help reduce current dependence on imports. Gradually, it will ensure greater self-reliance and dependabi- lity of supplies essential to meet nat- ional security objectives. The ring-fencing of six strategic platforms is different from other mo- dels elsewhere, where market forces drive development and competition. It raises questions. Many of the six named domestic champions have al- ready invested in defence verticals that may be different from those they are selected to focus on. Then, ques- tions are being raised as to whether mechanisms will be put in place to achieve ‘value for money’ once the sector has been awarded to a strate- gic partner on an exclusive basis. Also, what would happen if MoD decides not to buy the system the strategic platform had developed? Or, indeed, delayed a programme? These are not deal-breakers. But they do underscore the need for care- ful consultation with both domestic and foreign companies prior to the rollout of the initiative. Industry is keen to contribute to the details of a well-defined model based on strate- gic needs, quality criticality, cost com- petitiveness and safeguards designed to prevent an abuse of monopoly. At the same time, there is an opportuni- ty to put in place processes that avoid previous competing priorities where defence deals are bogged down in co- mplex negotiations over offset clau- ses, technology transfer pacts, etc. The new Strategic Partnership poli- cy won’t solve these issues overnight. But Britain believes the policy will considerably free up the defence ind- ustrial space in India, making room for new private sector players and gre- ater infusion of FDI and technology. As the British defence industry is widely recognised as one of the most innovative in the world, one can be confident that it will engage to assist in making this initiative a success. Through this model, there will be a marked rise in technology transfer, a definite requirement for stepping up Indian indigenous defence manu- facturing between India and Britain. The writer is CEO, UK India Business Council, London Let’s Weaponise Make in India INDIA-UK DEFENCE PARTNERSHIP Richard Heald What’s been good for Double-O… FILE PHOTO CCI NG 3.7 Product: ETDelhiBS PubDate: 09-06-2017 Zone: AhmedabadCity Edition: 1 Page: ETACTP14 User: raman.kapoor Time: 06-08-2017 22:39 Color: C M Y K https://telegram.me/TheHindu_Zone https://telegram.me/PDF4EXAMS
Transcript of AHMEDABAD - Let's Study Together · THE THE ECONOMIC TIMES | AHMEDABAD | FRIDAY | 9 JUNE 2017...
The Edit PageTHE ECONOMIC TIMES
It’s heartening that three Indian universities feature amongthe top 200 in the latest QS world ranking of universities. QSrankings have a weightage of 50% for reputation among theacademics and employers it surveys, and thus has a structuralbias against Asian universities and, in particular, against sm-aller universities that produce few globetrotting academics ortechnology workers. However, there is no gainsaying that Indi-an higher education is deficient, when it comes to pushing theboundaries of human insight and ingenuity forward.
India needs to cover a huge ground, starting from primary ed-ucation, to become a knowledge society by global standards.Instead of respect for received wisdom, authority and hierar-
chy, our system of education must promo-te the spirit of inquiry. Our institutions ofhigher education must nurture the spiritof enlightened questioning, as well as ex-perimentation. That entails challengingextant wisdom and tolerance of question-ing and criticism. Without that, researchcannot flourish. Any ranking of universi-
ties would give great weightage to research citations by facul-ty. In India, the Indian Institute of Science is an outlier in thisregard. The need is to integrate teaching and research acrossuniversities. For research-active faculty, functional autono-my and attractive remuneration are essential.
Expanding higher education also calls for enhancing the ef-ficacy of public spending, apart from enhancing public fund-ing and supplementing it with realistic tuition fees in the caseof higher education. Liberal scholarships and student loansmust complement higher tuition fees, of course. Indian indus-try must also pitch in, funding research at our institutions ofhigher learning, to fuel their own ambitions to achieve globallevels of excellence.
Going Beyond the QSRanking of Universities
14�THE ECONOMIC TIMES | AHMEDABAD | FRIDAY | 9 JUNE 2017
The Trusty Tux is asUseful as the LBDThe little black dress (LBD) has become a fashion icon be-cause it’s a fail-safe formal ensemble. Former US First LadyMichelle Obama’s revelation that her husband ex-presidentBarack Obama wore the same black tuxedo for every import-ant evening event for his entire eight years in the White Hou-se shows that men have had the same fallback too, only no onehas drawn attention to it all this while. Does anyone notice ifGeorge Clooney repeats his suits or evening jackets as heescorts his glamorous wife Amal on red carpets? Did anyonecheck whether the British princes at Pippa Middleton’s wed-ding wore the same morning suits to previous society nupti-als? Unlikely. It may be germane to mention that the originat-or of the LBD was the actress amour of King Edward VII, Lil-lie Langtry, who stood out in London society over a centuryago by wearing only a black dress — the same one, for a longtime — and no jewellery for all engagements. It is not surpri-sing that no one recalls what her royal friend wore.
Of course, Michelle Obama’s disclosure gives rise to specu-lation whether besides his trusty tux, Obama wore only onesuit for his two terms too, leaving the entire dressing roomspace in the presidential suite for his wife’s extensive ward-robe. That would count as a significant concession for the USclothing retail industry.
Obama wearing the same tuxedo for allevents shows men have a fail-safe too
Finance minister Arun Jaitley did the right thing by ma-king it clear that the government respects the RBI’s deci-sion on policy rates, something that is within its remit toset, through the new mechanism of the Monetary PolicyCommittee (MPC) that includes three economists nomi-nated by the government. He was also right to assert thefinance ministry’s right to communicate its views to theMPC on what policy rates should be. In the era of globali-sed finance and footloose capital that can shift trillions ofdollars across national borders in the twinkling of aneye, fiscal and monetary policy must coordinate, to main-tain macroeconomic stability. But how that coordinationtakes place is as important as the need for it. And this iswhere the MPC’s decision to assert its independence andthe finance minister’s open acknowledgement of that in-dependence serve the nation well.
The fact of the matter is that the binding constraint onthe economy is not the cost of borrowing but the structu-
ral problem of the banking system’sinability to lend and large companies’inability to borrow, owing to huge pastloans that have turned sour. Resolvingthis problem has to be the central ban-ks’ priority, as well as that of the gov-ernment. It might not be sufficient toauthorise the RBI to restructure the
bad loans of the banks it supervises. Political capital hasto be spent to make the haircuts that banks would have totake while doing that restructuring viable. If bank chair-men are not assured that such haircuts would not lead tocharges of causing loss to the exchequer that land themin jail, few would venture to take the plunge: they wouldmuch rather dither and retire, and let their successorshandle the mess. Only the government can provide thatreassurance, by making it clear that it makes a distinc-tion between decisions that were mala fide and decisionsthat simply went wrong and would go after only those be-hind the mala fide decisions.
The good news is that the government does have enor-mous political capital, after the ruling party’s sweepingvictory in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
Time to Draw onPolitical CapitalThat is the only way to push up lending, growth
A SRINIVAS
Who is a good human being?Charles Dickens said peoplewere good and bad. But he cou-ldn’t figure out what made themthat way. Unfortunately, Dick-ens missed — by about 50 years— the revolution in psychologybrought about by Sigmund Fre-ud. Freud believed an individu-al’s personality was shaped inhis infancy, with later influenc-eshaving only a negligible imp-act. But Freud erred in focus-ing on natural instincts to theexclusion of social structures.
A good human being is honestto himself and sensitive to theneeds of others. An emotional-ly honest person is a product ofan upbringing that infuses asense of self-worth. People canlack self-worth because of somekind of Freudian rejection intheir infancy. To overcome theirfeeling of smallness or insecur-ity, they control, even with goodintentions, those emotionallyor socially weaker than them.
The oppressed tend to controlthose still more vulnerable toovercome their misery. Hence,a chain of power is establishedin family and social relations.Control distorts love and good-ness. It is exercised throughpsychological manipulation,or through the social hierarchy.
The good individual stands li-berated from the control chain,from thought systems that div-ide people. He tends to be freeof malice, fear and inner tur-moil — all of which arise fromcarrying the burden of thepast. The past can be overcomeonly by coming to terms withit. Here, Freud’s contributionto the betterment of the hum-an condition is invaluable.
In a State ofGoodness
The Centre is reportedly planning amajor policy initiative to rev up us-age of electric vehicles. The gameplan is to sell automobiles withoutbatteries. This would slash costs byas much as 70%. Further, what’s pro-posed is a nationwide leasing of bat-teries, for rapid diffusion of e-vehi-cles and change in the techno-econo-mic paradigm.
The way ahead is to install solar-po-wered vehicle chargers in the mainurban centres for starters, and withthe express purpose of opting forgreen energy, especially in publictransportation. It would be path-breaking and innovative. Speedypolicy implementation is key.
A focused initiative to boost solar-powered charging of e-vehicles wou-ld meet several policy objectives. Itwould step up the supply of environ-mentally benign power in our com-mercial energy mix.
It has the potential to very substan-tially reduce fossil fuel imports. Andwidespread plying of battery-power-ed buses and e-rickshaws in denseurban areas can proactively bringdown pollution levels, particularlyif there’s solar charging.
Reports suggest that battery techno-
logy for automotive use is set to makerapid progress in the medium termand beyond. This would reduce costsand boost demand for e-vehicles. Hen-cethe need to have a forward-lookingpolicy in place for convenient solarcharging. What’s required is a solidbusiness case for installing solar-powered e-vehicle chargers widely.
However, it is a fact that neither theglobal oil majors nor the main auto-mobile companies seem particularlybullish on e-vehicles. A recent reportmentioned that one of the biggest oilretailers expects the global e-vehiclefleet to add up to no more than 11%,by 2040. Another oil major reported-ly expects e-vehicle numbers to be alowly 6% in 2035.
Automobile majors seem more san-guine about the prospects of e-vehi-cles, but expectations vary. So, whileone major manufacturer expects ev-ery fourth car sold globally to be ane-vehicle by 2025, another has main-tained that the phase-out of fossil-
fuel vehicles will stretch to 2050.Nevertheless, there’s progress on
the battery technology front, and weneed to fast-forward the usage ofe-buses and e-rickshaws as environ-ment-friendly public transport. Al-ready, graphene battery technologyis said to be far more productive thanthe lithium-ion route. The formercosts far less too.
Besides, the internal combustionengine has an efficiency rate of onlyabout 20% when it comes to convert-ing fuel into useful energy. Its umpte-en moving parts and systems makeit prone to breakdowns. In contrast,e-vehicles are vastly more robust andenergy efficient. Which is why itmakes eminent sense to step up thepolicy push for e-vehicles and solar-powered chargers.
The way forward is to rapidly setup charging infrastructure, initiallyfor public transport, by leveragingfunds from, for instance, the cleanenvironment cess corpus. We needto install rapid solar-charging stati-ons, fast chargers and ultra-fast char-gers, to have a network of chargingpoints right across the board.
Fast and ultra-fast chargers requiremore power, and will wear out batter-ies sooner. But with an attractiveleasing plan in place for e-vehicle bat-teries, the quicker wear-out shouldactually accelerate efficiency impro-vement and productivity gains.
It would lead to a virtuous cycle,and would step up both the demandand supply of e-vehicles going for-ward. The costs of solar power havebeen tumbling and falling for quite a
while now. It is possible that with po-licy-induced demand for chargers,the economics of solar panels wouldfurther improve.
We need to put in place norms andstandards for the solar charging in-frastructure. One Britain-based oilmajor says it would start installingsolar-powered e-chargers at its fuelstations this year. The mavens sug-gest that rapid chargers, which canrecharge e-vehicle batteries in halfan hour or so, need solar panels ofabout 50kW.
Also, we need ultra-fast chargers torecharge on the go — in, say, 15 minu-tes — with 350kW solar power. Suchchargers need to come up, to beginwith, in bus depots. There’s also theneed for dedicated charging pointsfor e-rickshaws.
There’s the further need to have sol-ar-powered chargers along highwaysin a phased manner, in keeping withthe diffusion of e-vehicles on the gro-und. At the same time, we need slowchargers, to charge e-cars overnight,with, say, 3kW solar power.
Additionally, residential colonieswill need perhaps 20kW installed torecharge e-cars in 3-4 hours. More ge-nerally, we need to encourage throu-gh policy solar-powered inverters inhomes, with dedicated solar panelsof, say, 0.5-1kW to make solar-poweredbackup systems an essential house-hold gadget. It would shore up supplyof solar panels and chargers, andpurposefully drive zooming e-vehicleusage nationwide.
Get All Charged Up About SolarNOW & THEN
Jaideep Mishra
Well, it is sunny
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External engagement is a fac-tor of internal priorities.This has been an abidingtenet of India’s foreign po-licy. Which is why it’s puzz-
ling that New Delhi’s policy towardsChina’s ‘Belt and Road Initiative’(BRI) is out of touch with the realityof Chinese involvement in India’sown economy.
When the Pakistani daily, Dawn,revealed China’s plans to build Pak-istan’s internet backbone via theChina-Pakistan Economic Corridor(CPEC) last month (goo.gl/ttMtha),influential voices in India scoffed atIslamabad’s open invitation to Beij-ing to surveil its society. China is notonly creating Pakistan’s fibre opticbackbone but it is also developing itsdigital infrastructure for law and or-der ‘monitoring and control’.
The Chops and the SticksJust as the CPEC is BRI’s flagshipproject, the creation of informationand communication technology (ICT)ecosystems is the most importantelement of BRI. In no other area willBeijing’s influence on BRI memberstates be more pronounced than incyberspace. Because China can sup-ply digital goods at extremely compe-
titive prices.India has stayed away from BRI to
counter China’s influence on the re-gion’s economies. This concern waseloquently articulated in 2015 by for-eign secretary S Jaishankar, who sug-gested China was looking to “hardwire” norms of governance in Asia.Digital spaces, in the absence of set-tled international regimes, are ripefor such hardwiring.
Unfortunately, this concern is acu-te in India’s own digital economy.Sample these statistics from the Klei-ner Perkins Internet Trends 2017 rep-ort released on May 31. Four of thetop-selling five smartphones in Indiatoday are Chinese: Lenovo, Oppo, Vi-vo and Xiaomi. Their collective mar-ket share grew from a modest 15% in2014 to an astonishing 52% by the fir-st quarter of 2017. More importantly,this growth came at the cost of Indi-an manufacturers, whose market sh-are declined exactly in reverse, from45% to 15% in three years.
The report also suggests UC Brow-ser, developed by China’s internet gi-ant Alibaba, has carved out a 50% sh-are of India’s mobile browser mark-et. A 2015 ExIm bank report conclud-ed that India is China’s largest “re-cipient of capital investment in elec-tronics”. In 2013-14, China accountedfor a staggering 58% of all electronicimports to India.
So, one could argue that all roadsfrom China’s digital economy lead toIndia. Given Beijing’s pervasive reachover India’s IT ecosystem, is it any-one’s case that BRI policies will notaffect New Delhi?
The Indian response to China’s do-mination of its digital economy shou-ld not be to ban Chinese products and
services. That would only halt thesurge in internet penetration in Ind-ia, and go against the grain of this go-vernment’s ‘Digital India’ and ‘Makein India’ initiatives. If anything, Chi-na’s technology giants must be invit-ed to build capacity in India, whetherin high-end manufacturing, data an-alytics abilities or through financingR&D in Indian universities. Theymust be encouraged to be honest int-erlocutors and to refrain from exploi-tative trade activities.
Fasten the Belt on the RoadFrom a strategic perspective, it mustbe ensured that China’s creeping in-fluence over cyberspace rules doesnot pose a challenge for India. Indianplayers should not find themselvesshut out by Chinese competition fromthe region’s digital economies, or atthe very least, from their own.
Boycotting the Belt and Road Sum-mit in Beijing last month was NewDelhi’s political signal to Asian coun-tries that it is willing to challenge Ch-ina’s economic influence in the region.
This resistance cannot be premisedon providing loans, products or servi-ces for the digital economy at par withChina, not when India’s own marketrelies heavily on Chinese players.
It should, instead, be driven by amultilateral effort — led by India andother major economies like Japan,Singapore and South Korea — to setnorms of governance for cyberspacein Asia. Such an effort would involveboth a high-level understanding onthe strategic and military uses of cy-berspace, and dialogue between ma-jor industrial players on the techni-cal standards and protocols to be ad-opted by them.
Arule-based ecosystem is the onlyway to prevent Chinese companiesfrom dumping cheap devices in forei-gn markets, and gaming regulationsto suit their products. But to incuba-te such an effort, India needs to arti-culate its own laws on data integrity,encryption, the access for law enfor-cement to electronic data, the Inter-net of Things and digital payments.India’s most effective antidote to Chi-nese influence in Asia is the creationof an open domestic market, servingthe ‘Digital India’ goals of inclusiveand affordable connectivity, but secu-re and reliable enough that other ju-risdictions can emulate as their own.
Without a baseline reference for theglobal standards it seeks to promote,India will also not be able to stem theinfluence of China in Asian markets.Foreign policy is decisive in the pur-suit of India’s strategic interests. Butit is merely an extension of its dom-estic values and principles. A DigitalIndia serves India’s interest when itis attractive to others and offers solu-tions others seek to embrace. India’sforceful show of intent by stayingaway from BRI must be backed by itsown strategy to moderate China’s ri-se. And that work begins at home.
The writers are with the ObserverResearch Foundation, New Delhi
Belt & Road, Take Me HomeStaying away from China’s BRI must be backed by India strengthening its own (digital) backbone
First set up your own ecosystem
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The resistance to China should be led by a multilateraleffort by India, Japan, Singapore and South Koreato set norms of governance for cyberspace in Asia
Samir Saran &Arun Sukumar
Letters to the editor may be addressed to
RBI, Focus onNPA RecoveryApropos the Edit, ‘ProppingUp the RBI’s Credibility’ (Jun8), the question of autonomyof RBI in monetary and creditmanagement is looming again.The government wants growthfor which rate cut is required,but RBI’s Monetary Policy Co-mmittee is in favour of inflati-on control by the traditionalmethod of squeezing liquidity.Pay Commission and GST areexpected to push up consump-tion, but low credit offtake forbanks despite excess liquiditymakes it difficult for investme-nt-driven growth. RBI shouldfocus on recovery of non-perfor-ming assets from corporatesthan blame farm loan waivers.
SANJAY TIWARIHisar
An Attentive EarWon’t Harm RBIThis refers to the Edit, ‘Prop-ping Up the RBI’s Credibility’.The MPC would not have lostautonomy by attending a meet-ing convened by finance minis-try officials. In fact, by attend-ing the meeting, the members
of the MPCcould have gotthe governme-nt’s ideas bef-ore taking mo-netary policydecisions. Anysuggestionwill not amou-
nt to interference. In fact, gov-ernment borrowings, taxationand fiscal balances, all affectmonetary policies of the RBI,and the monetary policies af-fect the government’s finan-ces. So why this reluctance?
S KALYANASUNDARAMBy email
Duckworth andLewis, GoodbyeThe result of ICC ChampionsTrophy match between SouthAfrica and Pakistan by Duck-worth-Lewis rule is highly un-acceptable. South Africa’s sco-re of 219-8 (50) is countered byPakistan with 119-3 (27) and itis declared a winner is absurd.This is a classic case of mathe-matics overtaking logic andreason. Still 100 runs from vic-tory and having lost three wic-kets, Pakistan would have col-lapsed at any time. It is time tosend the rule to the pavilion.As in some other games liketennis, it is better to continueplaying the game the next day.
NAGARAJ SHENOYBengaluru
Chat Room
With the announcement of the Stra-tegic Partnership policy, the Indianministry of defence (MoD) has rolledout a significant initiative aimed atrevitalising the ‘Defence IndustrialEcosystem’. This announcement co-uld be ground-breaking. Cementingpartnerships with Indian companiesis already recognised as an importa-nt opportunity for big foreign defen-ce manufacturing companies, provi-ding an impetus to ‘Make in India’.
The British defence sector, with itsunique expertise and already estab-lished long-term commitment, is lo-oking at these developments with at-tention. The devil will be in the deta-ils. But to date, the plans are radicaland make the elusive target of 70%indigenous manufacturing, whichMoD is committed to, realisable.
It’s been over a decade since India’sprivate sector was directly involvedin defence manufacturing. Citing
security concerns, India’s defenceprocurement has largely been dri-ven by various defence public sectorundertakings (DPSUs) and the Ord-nance Factory Board. While defencemanufacturing was ‘liberalised’ in2001and opened up to not just Indianprivate players but also to foreign en-tities (49% FDI), a defence productionbase outside of the DPSUs and theOFB has not yet been prevalent.
The radical element is the pivotalrole the private sector is envisagedto play bringing together all stake-holders, including foreign originalequipment manufacturers, for dev-eloping indigenous defence manu-facturing. Active involvement of theprivate sector will have a transform-ational impact. It will enhance com-petition, raise efficiencies, facilitatefaster and more significant technolo-gy absorption, create a tiered indust-rial ecosystem, ensure developmentof a wider skill base, trigger innova-tion and promote participation inglobal value chains and exports.
From a strategic perspective, it willhelp reduce current dependence onimports. Gradually, it will ensuregreater self-reliance and dependabi-lity of supplies essential to meet nat-ional security objectives.
The ring-fencing of six strategic
platforms is different from other mo-dels elsewhere, where market forcesdrive development and competition.It raises questions. Many of the sixnamed domestic champions have al-ready invested in defence verticalsthat may be different from those theyare selected to focus on. Then, ques-tions are being raised as to whethermechanisms will be put in place toachieve ‘value for money’ once thesector has been awarded to a strate-gic partner on an exclusive basis.
Also, what would happen if MoDdecides not to buy the system thestrategic platform had developed?Or, indeed, delayed a programme?
These are not deal-breakers. Butthey do underscore the need for care-
ful consultation with both domesticand foreign companies prior to therollout of the initiative. Industry iskeen to contribute to the details of awell-defined model based on strate-gic needs, quality criticality, cost com-petitiveness and safeguards designedto prevent an abuse of monopoly. Atthe same time, there is an opportuni-ty to put in place processes that avoidprevious competing priorities wheredefence deals are bogged down in co-mplex negotiations over offset clau-ses, technology transfer pacts, etc.
The new Strategic Partnership poli-cywon’t solve these issues overnight.But Britain believes the policy willconsiderably free up the defence ind-ustrial space in India, making roomfor new private sector players and gre-ater infusion of FDI and technology.
As the British defence industry iswidely recognised as one of the mostinnovative in the world, one can beconfident that it will engage to assistin making this initiative a success.Through this model, there will be amarked rise in technology transfer,a definite requirement for steppingup Indian indigenous defence manu-facturing between India and Britain.
The writer is CEO, UK India BusinessCouncil, London
Let’s Weaponise Make in IndiaINDIA-UK DEFENCE PARTNERSHIP
Richard Heald
What’s been good for Double-O…
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CCI NG 3.7 Product: ETDelhiBS PubDate: 09-06-2017 Zone: AhmedabadCity Edition: 1 Page: ETACTP14 User: raman.kapoor Time: 06-08-2017 22:39 Color: CMYKhttps://telegram.me/TheHindu_Zone https://telegram.me/PDF4EXAMS
